COP28 - another Statement?

I am not in Dubai these days at the COP 28. I therefore cannot post pictures of me in Dubai. I nevertheless took the liberty to ask the Bing Chat for some help on the past “results” of all 27 COPs. Please see further below:

I think that there is a general impression in the public that the outcome of such conferences is mainly STATEMENT that is the lowest common denominator of all parties, and that it is normally only adopted with the pressure to prevent ending the event without a “result”.

While I buy into the idea of efficient networking opportunities and meeting interesting professionals, I wonder if the track record of all these COPs is as inspiring as the pictures pretend to suggest of all the participants.

My parents raised me with the principle that there is a chance to inspire others with you own actions, i.e. by acting as a role model yourself. Requesting change while acting inconsistently at home does not send clear enough messages. I hope that the professionals who are “fighting hard” these days to reach an agreement on a STATEMENT in Dubai – regardless of the STATEMENT – still take actions at home. Given that the richest countries and companies in the world are represented by decision makers in Dubai these days, I believe that those stakeholders are not lacking the funds necessary to act. The targeted STATEMENT is not needed to justify climate actions globally.

Bing Chat extracted the below statements from the last 27 COPs. Let us see what the outcome of COP 28 will be, and hopefully be surprised. There is always hope…

- COP 1 (1995): Berlin, Germany ("initiate a process to enable ... the adoption of a protocol or another legal instrument.")

- COP 2 (1996): Geneva, Switzerland ("endorses the conclusions of IPCC's Second Assessment Report")

- COP 3 (1997): Kyoto, Japan ("adopts the Kyoto Protocol ... with legally binding targets and timetables for developed countries")

- COP 4 (1998): Buenos Aires, Argentina ("adopts the Buenos Aires Plan of Action ... to strengthen the implementation of the Convention and the Kyoto Protocol")

- COP 5 (1999): Bonn, Germany ("makes progress on the technical and institutional issues related to the Kyoto Protocol and the Convention")

- COP 6 (2000): The Hague, Netherlands ("fails to reach an agreement on the outstanding issues of the Kyoto Protocol")

- COP 6-2 (2001): Bonn, Germany ("reaches a political compromise on the main elements of the Kyoto Protocol, known as the Bonn Agreements")

- COP 7 (2001): Marrakech, Morocco ("adopts the Marrakesh Accords, which finalize the operational details of the Kyoto Protocol and establish a multilateral fund")

- COP 8 (2002): New Delhi, India ("adopts the Delhi Declaration ... and emphasizes the need for adaptation, technology transfer and capacity building for developing countries")

- COP 9 (2003): Milan, Italy ("adopts decisions on land use, land-use change and forestry activities, the clean development mechanism, and the national communications by developing countries")

- COP 10 (2004): Buenos Aires, Argentina ("adopts the Buenos Aires Programme of Work on Adaptation and Response Measures")

- COP 11 (2005): Montreal, Canada ("adopts the Montreal Action Plan, which launches a new round of negotiations to extend the Kyoto Protocol beyond 2012 and to engage the US and developing countries in a long-term cooperative action")

- COP 12 (2006): Nairobi, Kenya ("adopts the Nairobi Work Programme on Impacts, Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change")

- COP 13 (2007): Bali, Indonesia ("adopts the Bali Action Plan, which agrees on a timeline and a structured negotiation on the post-2012 framework and establishes the four building blocks of mitigation, adaptation, technology and finance")

- COP 14 (2008): Poznań, Poland ("adopts the Poznań Strategic Programme on Technology Transfer, which aims to scale up the development and transfer of technology to developing countries")

- COP 15 (2009): Copenhagen, Denmark ("takes note of the Copenhagen Accord, which recognizes the scientific view that the increase in global temperature should be below 2°C, and pledges to provide fast-start finance and long-term finance for developing countries")

- COP 16 (2010): Cancún, Mexico ("adopts the Cancun Agreements, which establish the Green Climate Fund, the Technology Mechanism, the Adaptation Committee, and the Cancun Adaptation Framework, and formalize the emission reduction pledges made by developed and developing countries")

- COP 17 (2011): Durban, South Africa ("adopts the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action, which launches a new round of negotiations to develop a protocol, another legal instrument or an agreed outcome with legal force applicable to all Parties by 2015, and to be implemented from 2020")

- COP 18 (2012): Doha, Qatar ("adopts the Doha Amendment, which establishes the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol from 2013 to 2020")

- COP 19 (2013): Warsaw, Poland ("adopts the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage associated with Climate Change Impacts, which addresses the loss and damage caused by the impacts of climate change in developing countries")

- COP 20 (2014): Lima, Peru ("adopts the Lima Call for Climate Action, which sets the groundwork for a new global climate agreement to be adopted in Paris in 2015, and invites all Parties to communicate their intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs) well in advance of COP 21")

- COP 21 (2015): Paris, France ("adopts the Paris Agreement, which aims to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping the global temperature rise this century well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5°C")

- COP 22 (2016): Marrakech, Morocco ("adopts the Marrakech Action Proclamation, which reaffirms the commitment to the full implementation of the Paris Agreement and calls for the highest political commitment to combat climate change")

- COP 23 (2017): Bonn, Germany ("adopts the Fiji Momentum for Implementation, which advances the work programme under the Paris Agreement and accelerates the implementation of climate action")

- COP 24 (2018): Katowice, Poland ("adopts the Katowice Climate Package, which operationalizes the Paris Agreement by setting out the detailed rules and procedures for its implementation")

- COP 25 (2019): Madrid, Spain ("adopts the Chile-Madrid Time for Action, which calls for more ambition in mitigation, adaptation and support, and addresses outstanding issues such as the use of market mechanisms, the reporting of climate finance and the review of the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage")

- COP 26 (2020): Glasgow, United Kingdom (Postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic)

- COP 27 (2022): Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt (“reaffirms the commitment of all Parties to the full, effective and timely implementation of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and recognizes the urgency and ambition required to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels."

- COP 28 (2023): Dubai, United Arab Emirates (tbd)